OK, the top fell, so you're definitely in the real world, not in your dream. You gather yourself together; while you're at it, you gather all your stuff together - the top and note from your pockets, plus everything from the first game that's on the floor.

Examine the shed thoroughly. What do you see? The same as before - the plank with the handle, and the door. Is there any way out? Yes - the door is open. Anything interesting lying around? Nothing that you haven't picked up already. And the mattress, but that won't move.

Take out Brigitte's note and reread it, please. You unfold the note, which says:

To the adventurer:

If you've found this, that means I was able to break the loop. However, if you keep doing things the way you've done them before, you will remain trapped in the loop.

I'm still on the outside, and I could only get into the loop once. However, to completely break out of the loop, you have to remember "reversal." If you remember this, you will be able to get out. Starting now.

If the loop is broken, everything will change when you return, and you will be able to completely escape. But you will still need to remember. I will help as much as I can without being found out.

Brigitte

Since things are different, you think you can safely assume that you've escaped the loop. But you're still not free...and you should probably keep remembering "reversal." Whatever that's for.

hmm...interesting...Walk backwards out the door. That's a very reverse thing to do. You do so. You're now in the yard again - the same yard, with the tree, and the statue, and the barred gate, and the hedge. Nothing's changed, except that you're now outside.

there's absolutely nothing new or different to find? Nothing. maybe we should keep walking backwards? OK, you keep walking backwards. As it dawns on you that that might not be what "reversal" meant, you bang into the gate. You turn around, rubbing your head as you do so. That's strange - one of the bars seems rusted at its ends.

Ouch...not concussed, I do hope :-( No, just a small bump. It'll go away soon.

Examine the rusted bar. It's not very thick, but it's pretty long. There's not all that much rust on it, but it's probably enough to weaken the bar. Is there a way to get the rust off? You don't think so. Can the rusted bar be separated from the rest of the gate? Probably, but you'll need some kind of tool to remove the bar.

ow...that's not helpful. Would whacking the plank with the iron bar help? Whacking it won't but... with the crowbar? ...prying the plank off does. The plank comes off the wall, revealing a keyhole and button. You add the plank to your inventory.

Well...what a (currently?) unhelpful blue button. Emphasis on the "currently"...

*tries to think of what to do now* Look around the yard. There's the bronze statue with the torch (possibly removable), the tree with the hole in the trunk, the lever in the hedge, and the stuff behind the shed (telephone pole, plexiglass wall now stuck in hedge).

Is the circle merely painted or inscribed in the material of the statue? Or does it look like a separate piece? If it's separate, like a wheel, maybe we can stick something in one of the holes and crank it.

Is the circle merely painted or inscribed in the material of the statue? Or does it look like a separate piece? It looks like it's a separate piece. If it's separate, like a wheel, maybe we can stick something in one of the holes and crank it. Maybe, but we might have to fit something in both holes.

Well, we have a golf club, a crowbar, a screwdriver, and a metal bar from the gate. Those sound like they could all be used as levers of some kind to try and turn the circle. So see if any of those fit into the holes. If one does, try turning the wheel just with that one. If you can find two that do, try sticking them in both holes and turning.

Well, we have a golf club, a crowbar, a screwdriver, and a metal bar from the gate. Those sound like they could all be used as levers of some kind to try and turn the circle. So see if any of those fit into the holes. If one does, try turning the wheel just with that one. If you can find two that do, try sticking them in both holes and turning. The metal bar and screwdriver are thin enough to fit in the holes, but they won't turn the circle. Taking a closer look at the holes, you realize that you'll need something that exact shape to fit in the holes, and a quick glance over your inventory reveals that you don't have anything like that now. You should probably leave the statue till later.

What else is in the yard? Look around and see what's interesting. Well, there's the lever inside the hedge, first off. Behind the shed is the telephone pole, along with the plexiglass wall stuck in the hedge. There's also the tree with a hole in the trunk and a button that you've pushed already, in Part I.

Try pushing and pulling the lever. It's stuck. Also, examine the telephone pole more closely. It's still the same pole - big and wooden. You didn't notice this before, but there's a lightning rod running down the side of the telephone pole.

Examine the lever more closely and try to determine just why it's stuck, and if it's currently fixable. You can't do that because you have to reach into the hedge to pull the lever. The hedge is too thick to see inside.

Then try and get the plexiglass wall unstuck from the hedge, if you can. The plexiglass wall is held in place by some thin vines that make up part of the hedge. You'll need some way to cut them in order to get the plexiglass out.

Or perhaps, look at the tree? :-) You look at the tree. There's that knot-button that you pushed in back in the first game, and the knothole in the trunk. Come to think of it, that knothole looks kind of odd - it's perfectly round. Thin, but round.(Darn it Balin, now I have the bed intruder song stuck in my head ::sigh:: ) A better earworm than most, though...

Stick something inside it! The only one of the following items that fits is...

The golf club The crowbar The screwdriver The gate bar ...this one, so you shove the iron bar into the hole. Suddenly, the front side of the tree trunk rises - it's a hidden doorway. You can see that the tree is hollow, and fastened inside it is a large ladder, leading both up and down the tree.

If you're sure the door won't close behind you in case you have to get out again, and/or if you're sure everything else out here is taken care of (at least, for the moment), go inside the tree and check out that ladder. Where's it lead to?

Please clarify -- when you say "leading both up and down the tree" do you mean that the tree is hollow, and there's a ladder inside? And you can use the ladder to go up inside the tree? But also to go below ground? Or are you not currently at ground level, and the "down" actually takes you to ground level?

If you're sure the door won't close behind you in case you have to get out again, and/or if you're sure everything else out here is taken care of (at least, for the moment), go inside the tree and check out that ladder. Where's it lead to? Both up to the top of the tree and down below ground.

Please clarify -- when you say "leading both up and down the tree" do you mean that the tree is hollow, and there's a ladder inside? And you can use the ladder to go up inside the tree? But also to go below ground? This is correct Or are you not currently at ground level, and the "down" actually takes you to ground level?

Well, go up the tree first of all, and see what you can see. You climb up until the trunk narrows to a point where you cannot fit. Up here, you can see a slot inside the trunk, about the same size as the plexiglass wall which is stuck in the hedge. Then, when we're done up there, hopefully you can go back down to see what's down there. You climb down the ladder, and land on a stone floor. On the floor is a medium-sized cannon, and lying next to it is a pair of garden shears.

However, the floor only extends one-third of the way across this "room," before becoming a lava pit. Hanging from a hook in the "ceiling" is a tubular key, and there's a slot in the back wall.

Take the shears (they should be of use in trimming the hedge to get the piece of plexiglas), You take the shears and head back up into the yard. Going behind the shed, you clip away at the vines holding the plexiglass in place. The vines are cleaved easily, and you remove the plexiglass, adding it to your inventory. and assuming you can take it off the hook, remove the key too. You can't reach it, even with the golf club or crowbar. Besides, if you knocked it off right now, it'd just fall into the lava.

Then, unless anyone else has more ideas of things to do here right now, go back outside and test the tubular key in the holes of the "statue wheel". It won't fit anyway, as the key is round and the holes are square. Actually, the only thing with a tubular lock around here is the bike lock on the gate.

...Well. That's irritating. I assume we can't open the bike lock without the key. Is there a way to get rid of the lava? :-( It doesn't look like there's a way.

Maybe by sticking the plexiglas in the slot in the lower room with the lava? You can't reach that slot from the floor; however, you do stick the plexiglass in the slot in the top of the tree, and in doing so, you find it is now sticking out of the slot at the bottom.

Will the plank bear weight? Can you stand on it? Can you reach the key by standing on it? Is it under the key? If you use something to knock the key off, will it fall on the plank? Can you use a ladder on the plank to reach the key?

Wow, we have warped space-time here--or are you even sure it's the same piece of plexiglass that somehow teleported to the bottom, not a different one? You think it's the same. When you stuck it into the slot in the top, it went completely through the slot, so it probably dropped down the tree trunk and came out this slot.

Anyway the important part--did that do anything to the level of the lava? Not at all. The plexiglass is sticking out about a foot above the lava.

Will the plank bear weight? Can you stand on it? You use the plank to bridge the lava between the stone floor and the plexiglass. You step on it - it can barely hold your weight; you can't even take your stuff with you on the plank. Can you reach the key by standing on it? No; the key is far too high. Is it under the key? It is, but you still can't reach the key. If you use something to knock the key off, will it fall on the plank? No, but depending upon what angle you knock the key off the hook, it may fall on the plexiglass - hmmm. Can you use a ladder on the plank to reach the key? No; first of all, the plank won't hold too much weight. Secondly, the tree trunk ladder is fastened inside the tree. Third, the plank is too narrow to place the stepladder on.

Can you cut off a length of vine from the hedge and throw it over the hook like a rope, maybe with something attached to the end? Or maybe it will help to straighten out the coat hanger wire and attach it to something?

Can you cut off a length of vine from the hedge and throw it over the hook like a rope, maybe with something attached to the end? No, that won't work. You can't even get any vine from the hedge; the thin vines were not long. Or maybe it will help to straighten out the coat hanger wire and attach it to something? The coat hanger will not straighten.

That's true. Erm...are we going to have to be a human cannonball? The barrel of the cannon does not appear large enough for you to fit in. o.O Or will shooting...something at the key suffice to knock it onto the glass? You can probably shoot something at the key to knock it over; however, you should probably examine the cannon closer first.

All right then, examine the cannon more closely! What is it made of, what does it look like, is there anything already inside, how big is the cannon, etc., etc... The cannon has a medium-sized barrel. It would fit something about the size of a baseball, or maybe a bit bigger. There's something coiled up which is sticking out of the barrel - pulling it out, you find it to be another envelope.

The back of the cannon doesn't appear to have a fuse, nor even a hole to put one. However, there are four dials on the back; each can be set from 0 through 9. From left to right, the dials are labeled "Angle," "Pitch," "Velocity," and "Fuse."

Examine the envelope. Are we talking a small envelope? Greeting card-sized envelope? letter-size envelope? A manila envelope? A package-mailing envelope? Is there anything written on it? If so, what does it say?

Is there anything inside the envelope? If so, what is it? And if so, and there's writing on that, what does it say?

Examine the envelope. Are we talking a small envelope? Greeting card-sized envelope? letter-size envelope? This - same as the first one. A manila envelope? A package-mailing envelope? Is there anything written on it? No. If so, what does it say?

Is there anything inside the envelope? If so, what is it? And if so, and there's writing on that, what does it say? There are two things in the envelope. The first is another letter, reading:

If you've found this note, you're doing well. You've only got one thing which will fit in the cannon - make sure you set the dials right before you shoot. I can't say much more, but you still need to remember "reversal." And I've left you more notes along the way. Hopefully I'll see you on the outside.

Maybe set the dials to 0,8,9, and 1, in the order they appear to you? Though it is hard to believe that you want to shoot at an angle of zero (to the horizontal OR the vertical, either way)... That doesn't seem right, and the fuse hole is still not open. It seems that "reversal" is something we're supposed to remember for the long term, not the short term.

As for what will fit in the cannon, maybe the can of silly string (at least it will look neat if it explodes)? or one of the pieces of paper, wadded up? The Silly String can fits in the barrel nicely, and you use the golf club as a ramrod to shove it down the barrel.

So then 1,9,8,0? Hopefully we can get by with zero fuse... Those dials appear to aim the cannon at the key, and setting the "Fuse" dial to 0 opens up a small hole at the back of the cannon. That's apparently where the fuse goes...however, there's no fuse in sight. Perhaps you could improvise one?

Ok, what fuselike things have we got on us? Or is there anything that we could twist into a fuse and burn easily but that we won't need later? As a matter of fact, we do - the scrap of paper that says "film" is probably useless. You go ahead and twist that into a fuse, sticking it into the fuse hole.

Can you take one of the pieces of paper and tear a strip off? Or trim a twig off of some plant in the yard and light that? Already done that. Now the cannon is ready to fire!...but you've only got one shot. Better make it count.

Ok...fire, and hope it works *hides behind Balin, closing eyes, hoping it works* You light your last match and bring the tiny flame to the improvised fuse. The fuse burns down, accidentally incinerating the matchbook in the process, and...FIRES!!

As you watch, the Silly String can is expelled from the cannon's mouth with a soft "BOOM." It arcs towards the key and strikes it square on. As the can drops into the lava, the key hits the back wall, bounces off the plexiglass, and...ends up in the lava. Drat.

Wait a minute...something just dropped from the ceiling, actually landing on the plexiglass this time. And the lava feels like it's getting hotter - that plank bridge might burn up in no time!

Pick up whatever it is from the plexiglass (quickly!) then get off the bridge and remove the plank before it burns up and becomes useless, in case we need it later. You hustle over to the plexiglass, grab the item, and run back to the stone floor. The instant you step off the plank, it catches fire and burns up in seconds.

Relieved that you made it, you take a look at the item you picked up. It's a Bic ballpoint pen, one of those cheap plastic ones.

Hmm. If it's a ballpoint pen, we should be able to take it apart -- do that, see if there's anything interesting inside, take it out if there is something, then put the pen back together. Do we have any more scrap paper? If so, try writing on it. Or try writing on (y)our hand.

Leave the tree, then go back to the hedge and use the shears to clear a path to the lever. Can we see anything more about it now? Anything that might help us see why it wasn't moving?

Hmm. If it's a ballpoint pen, we should be able to take it apart -- do that, You remove the tip and cartridge, leaving the plastic barrel. see if there's anything interesting inside, Nothing. take it out if there is something, then put the pen back together. You stick the cartridge back in the barrel. The pen, by the way, has no cap. Do we have any more scrap paper? Just the two notes, but you'd rather not mess with them. If so, try writing on it. Or try writing on (y)our hand. Your hand now has a small blue line on it. The pen appears to work fine.

HINT: There's a reason I suggested Wikihow.

Leave the tree, then go back to the hedge and use the shears to clear a path to the lever. The vines in front of the lever are the same thickness (or rather, thin-ness) as those holding the wall in place, so you clip them away. Can we see anything more about it now? It's just an ordinary lever. Anything that might help us see why it wasn't moving? No.

Hmm... do you think you just missed it out of carelessness or stupidity, or was it not there? Maybe it has invisible ink that showed up when the heat from the lava got near it? It was my stupidity - I forgot to type it out with the rest of the note. Assume it was just carelessness.

Use the pen barrel to open the cylindrical lock. You take the pen apart and pick the bike lock with the barrel. After a few seconds, the lock pops open, and you remove it. You pocket the bike lock and push open the gate.

Stepping out of the yard, you peer into the horizon. It seems like the green grass goes on for ages.

And the green grass grows all around...? Interesting thought. You walk out a ways, and see that the grass goes for about a quarter-mile before ending at a deep, wide canyon. There is a large patch of sand about a hundred feet from the canyon, and inside the sand patch you find a blue key.

You walk along the canyon's rim - it completely encircles the yard. It'll be interesting, discovering how to escape this place. But for now, you head back to the yard.

Go try it in the keyhole that was behind the plank. You turn the key in the keyhole and hear a click. The button pops out a little bit. If nothing happens, press the button too. You push the button. Suddenly, the sky goes dark; turning around, you hear a loud CRACK! and see a bright blue lightning bolt shoot down and strike the tree. The tree quickly catches fire and burns up in seconds, leaving a big hole in the ground and a massive pile of ashes.

Go look at the hole. Describe what you see. You look down - you can see the lava pit, but the ladder down has burned away with the tree. Take some ashes (put them in some kind of container if you have one, or else just put them in a pocket). You reach into the ashes, and bump something definitely un-ash-like. You pull it out - it's a two-pronged key, kind of like a wide tuning fork, with the prongs about six inches apart. You drop that into your backpack, then stuff a handful of ashes into your pocket.

Walk over to the statue and insert the key you just got into the holes in the circular thingie on the base. It fits perfectly. Turn in whichever direction is likely to move the circle. You turn the key, and the circle spins. You hear a groaning sound, as the statue's base grows wider - a few feet wider on all sides.

You remove the key and drop it into the backpack as you examine the base. On the top of the base, on the same side of the statue as the torch, you see four notches in a large square or rectangular setting. On the base's side, there is a bolted panel reading "TRAPDOOR POWER."

Look more closely at the notches. Does it look like we have to insert something into them? More like "put something on them" - the notches are not very deep. Maybe an inch or so.Also look closer at the panel. Any clues on it? Apparently not. Does it look like we could remove it if we wanted to? No - the bolts are not only tightly fixed to the panel, they're also rusted on.

The fact that you took some ashes from the tree without us asking makes me think they are useful. Maybe we need to fill the four notches with ashes (like whatever that was about scattering ashes to the four corners of the earth, I don't remember from where)? Otherwise, do the letters in your inventory fit in the notches?

The fact that you took some ashes from the tree without us asking makes me think they are useful. Actually, Noel asked to take the ashes. Maybe we need to fill the four notches with ashes (like whatever that was about scattering ashes to the four corners of the earth, I don't remember from where)? No, that won't work; the notches aren't deep enough. Otherwise, do the letters in your inventory fit in the notches? No, the letters are too big.

So can you now reach the torch by using the notches as footholds to climb the base? or merely by standing farther out on the base than you could before?

I think I may be misunderstanding what these notches look like. So they are about an inch deep, and about an inch square? or are they more like inch-deep slots? Are they cut into a surface that is relatively level? or into a surface that is steeply inclined?

So can you now reach the torch by using the notches as footholds to climb the base? No - the notches are...hmmm. If the statue were standing on the floor, the notches would be on the floor. Does that make sense? or merely by standing farther out on the base than you could before? This'll help, but you need some more height...

I think I may be misunderstanding what these notches look like. So they are about an inch deep, and about an inch square? This one or are they more like inch-deep slots? Are they cut into a surface that is relatively level? It's flat. or into a surface that is steeply inclined?

Oh, wait... do they fit the feet of the stepladder we have? That would work, as the notches would keep the stepladder from slipping off the base. Try that to get to the torch. You put the stepladder on the notches and climb up. You're now at eye level with the flaming torch, so you remove it from the statue's hand.

Hey, that's odd...the inside of the statue's hand is not bronze. It's copper...

The inside meaning the palm? Yes - the palm of the hand, which was holding the torch similar to the Statue of Liberty, is copper. It appears that this statue might be made of copper, and bronze-plated. or was the torch attached by a hole drilled through the metal of the hand?

hmm... is this going to require a science experiment? How far away from the status is the telephone pole/lightning rod? Did we lose or otherwise use up our iron bar (I glanced over the puzzle and didn't see where we did, but it's not in the inventory)?

hmm... is this going to require a science experiment? Sort of, and I can see that you have the right idea... How far away from the statue is the telephone pole/lightning rod? Pretty far, plus the shed is between the two. Did we lose or otherwise use up our iron bar (I glanced over the puzzle and didn't see where we did, but it's not in the inventory)? We did use and lose the iron bar - it opened the tree.

The lightning rod, by the way, is only about a foot-and-a-half higher than the statue's hand.

It appears you need to overload the trapdoor panel at the statue's base with electricity in order to open it. You have a way to generate a massive amount of electricity, but how can you direct it to the statue?

This "way to generate a massive amount of electricity"--I assume you mean the lightning rod? Are we supposed to assume that when it's hooked up correctly to something (for instance the statue), lightning will strike it? or are there power lines on the pole with the rod that we need to connect to somehow?

This "way to generate a massive amount of electricity"--I assume you mean the lightning rod? Hmmm...how did we burn the tree down again? Are we supposed to assume that when it's hooked up correctly to something (for instance the statue), lightning will strike it? or are there power lines on the pole with the rod that we need to connect to somehow? You need to put something in the statue's hand in order to get lightning to hit it.

OK, use the blue key in the keyhole again to get to the button, and press it. The blue key is already in the keyhole (and it won't come out), so you push the button. Again, the sky goes dark, and as you turn around, you hear the lightning CRACK! and see the statue get lit up with a bright blue flash of light. The base of statue fritzes as the panel overloads, before the sky becomes light again.

Suddenly, you hear a noise right next to you. Turning aside, you see that half of the mattress has flipped up, revealing a square trapdoor in the floor! It has a handle, and no lock.

So I'm assuming you can lift the trapdoor? If you can, go down it, and be sure to take your stuff with you. You pull open the trapdoor and climb down a ladder.

As you reach the bottom of the ladder, you hear a loud sound above you - sort of like a crash and thud. Looking up, you see the trapdoor has closed. You clamber back up the ladder and push on it - it won't move. It seems something heavy has fallen on the trapdoor, so you'll have to find another way out.

You plop down on the ground and look around. There are doors on all four walls. On the wall in front of you, the north wall, there is a sort of electric "eye" to the left of the door. To the door's right is what appears to be a bracket board.

You turn right. To the right of that door is a light switch.

You turn right again. To the right of this door is some sort of box - perhaps a circuit box? It has a metal door on it, but the door is held shut with four flathead screws. Between the circuit box and the door is some small round glass...thing, like a panel set into the well. There are two small vertical slots on either side of it.

You turn right one more time. To the right of this door is yet another circuit box, but its door has no handle.

In the center of the room is a microphone on a stand. There's a large instruction tag hanging from it.

Read the instruction tag, first of all. Use the torch for light, if there is not adequate light for reading. The room is well-lit, so you read the tag. Many of the words are scratched out (represented with dashes below):

REVERSING MICROPHONE

Instructions: ---- into the back of the microphone ---------------. For example, if you yell "Up!" into it, -------.

Hmm.

what's a bracket box? It's a large board that has a bracket set up on it...kind of like the NCAA basketball tournament bracket. This one is smaller, though, and it only has sixteen teams on it, each one on a small placard - Team 0, Team 1, and so on up to Team 9. There's also Teams A-D, Team Jacob, and Team Edward. (Side note: I dislike Twilight intensely.) However, this "tournament" apparently hasn't started yet.

Also on the board is a small slot with an LCD screen above it. The screen reads "INSERT $5."

As an aside, Team Jacob and Team Edward could be blended to make Team Jedward, but IMO, Jedward (think The X Factor) was almost worse. I dislike Twilight intensely too. A friend of mine describes herself as "Team Tyler's Van" - the one that almost runs Bella over at the beginning. It would have saved us a lot of trouble.

...Do we have 5 dollars? I only see 25 cents. No, we only have 25 cents at the moment.

Can you bet on the tournament somehow? That might be a way to turn 25 cents into $5... Not likely. It seems like you'll need the $5 to activate the bracket. Maybe you'd better look elsewhere for now.

Undo the screws from the electrical box with your screwdriver and see what's in there. You undo all four screws and add them to your collection of stuff before opening the electrical box. The box has been set into the wall - the only thing inside it is a long thin rope, hanging from somewhere above the box (you can see a hole in the inside-top of the box which the rope goes through). Also, the box has no floor - interesting.

Also, try the light switch in case you haven't. You flick the switch. A beam of white light shines from the glass circle and hits the electric eye. The eye blinks, hiding its red iris for a second, and the light turns off. The switch has also reset to its original position.

What happens if you pull the rope (as far as it will go)? You pull the rope down - surprisingly, it takes little effort, although you feel a clear strain on the rope. As you pull, you glance left, and notice the door next to the rope is opening! Pulling the rope all the way down results in the door opening all the way.

However, as soon as you let go of the rope, it rises through the hole and the door drops, closing again.

Try to wind the rope around the heavy things you have in your inventory (the crowbar sounds like the best, for a start), and see if you can weight it down so that the door stays open. You tie the crowbar to the rope and let it go. The crowbar's weight causes the rope to rapidly descend, and the door opens. And stays open.

So take a look what's on the other side of the door. You step through the door into a dark, stone room. It's not completely dark though, but very dimly lit. There is a door on the opposite side of the room, and on it is a painting of a monk holding an unlit candle. Behind him - at least, it looks this way - there are two lines of monks, all holding unlit candles. The monks are all painted on the walls, and the lines of monks extend all the way around the walls.

There's also something long and thin on the floor. And it has some writing on it, but you can't make it out in this dim light.

Are the letters in "GET OUT NOW" the same size as those in your inventory? No - they're written on the straw wrapper. Are they of similar size to the letters on the instruction tag? No, they're smaller than those. Maybe we need to unscramble them all to fill in the blanks. They aren't blanks - besides, it looks like the scratched-off parts of the instruction tag were longer phrases.

If not, maybe you can scratch off the, um, scratch marks with something sharp from your inventory, in order to read the writing. No, the writing has been scratched away. Apparently, all we have to work from on the instruction tag is the legible words.

Would shooting the electric eye with something through the straw work? (If it won't, don't do it, but just asking) Probably not. We were able to shine a light beam on it, but that didn't do anything. Although - the iris glowed red afterwards. That might be important.

i called that phone num allegedly belonging to Brigette and got "All circuits are busy. Announcement 86119-2". Is this relevant? No, but what an idea! In actuality, I just picked a random phone number using all 10 digits.

Turn on the light, and before it goes out, yell "Up" with the microphone facing away from your mouth. You flip the light on and quickly yell "Up!" into the back of the microphone. Nothing changes with the light - or the electric eye - but a pulley drops from the ceiling and lands in your hands. Huh.

Well, that's one use of the microphone...I guess...Maybe we'll figure out where to use it again later.

Try yelling various directions into it, like "down", "left", "right". Since yelling "up" into the reversing microphone made something fall down, maybe something will rise up out of the floor when you say "down"?

Try yelling various directions into it, like "down", "left", "right". Since yelling "up" into the reversing microphone made something fall down, maybe something will rise up out of the floor when you say "down"? Nothing happens. But a pulley - you yell "up" and get a pulley. Hmmm.

Oh, I get it now... but I can't think of anything else to say that works like that. Maybe we'll find something later.

In any case, if the rope fits through the pulley, maybe that will help us do something with the rope that is right now wrapped around the crowbar. If you put the pulley on the rope (the pulley can be easily snapped apart and reassembled), it would slide down the rope to nowhere. That can't be it.

That bit about the electric eye - is there a way that we can turn the beam red? And there's those slots on either side of the eye...

Ohhhh....after staring at this for a couple of minutes, it finally dawned on me that half of the pair of 3D glasses is red, right? Right!

Hold the red part of the glasses over the eye. Better yet, you stick the arms of the glasses in the slots surrounding the light - the red lens is directly over the light! flick the light switch again. The beam comes out completely red and hits the eye. The eye closes, and the north door opens.

Go through the door. You're now in some sort of utility room. Pipes are going through the walls, through the floor...all throughout the room. There's also a faucet on the wall to your left, with one of the pipes leading to it. Below the faucet is a drain.

In the center of the floor is a medium-sized panel with a handle. There is a funnel resting on it.

To the north is yet another door. Unfortunately, this one is missing a knob.

Is the handle one that pulls, or turns? It pulls. If so, do whichever action with the handle that seems likely to open the panel. You pull on the handle and swing the panel open, revealing a broken water pipe in the floor - the pipe has actually split in two. There are round hooks on both halves of the pipe, as well as on the underside of the panel cover.

So take a very close look at the box by the west door. It's closed. There's no handle, and the door seems to be jammed shut. Maybe you could pry it open...?

"There's a hole in the pipe, dear Balin kitteh" "with what shall I fix it, kaylee kitteh?" "with a straw? iz hao teh song goez!" Actually, the pipe doesn't have a hole - it's split. However, if you could pull the two halves together somehow - maybe with those hooks - and hold them in place, the pipe would be whole.

Or a cheezburgur, if wun can be found...but no wants to waste cheezburgur by stuffing in that hole, I guess! noe cheezburgerz hear...

try prying the box (or did you mean the door?) No, I meant the box open with the screwdriver? is there anything else that might work, if that doesn't? The screwdriver forces open the box. Inside the box (at its bottom), you see a complex locking system of wires and fuses. Above the locking system is a large absorbent layer of cotton. All of this is behind a layer of Plexiglass; however, there is a small hole in the Plexiglass at the top of the box.

Can the coat hanger wire be used to join the hooks? or maybe even the hook of the coat hanger can be put through two of the hooks to hold them together? No; as we've established a few times, the coat hanger will not bend.

haha, bike lock? Yep - you twist the bike lock through the hooks and pull the pipe together. Now water should flow through it with ease.

I guess I'm having a really hard time visualizing what exactly we're trying to do at this stage. I don't know that I would have guessed bike lock in a million years without your clues. I guess it's because my descriptions don't really do justice to how I've imagined everything to look. It's hard for me to communicate my mental images of all the rooms.

If you ever need a clue, just ask, and I'll be happy to give it. In fact, I'll give one now: there's a reason the straw comes in its wrapper.

no, I figured out my confusion. I was picturing a U-lock, but this lock is a cable lock, right? Right. Doesn't really matter now, anyway.

Would you mind describing everything in the room you're in again? Repeating the original description, only updated:

You're in a utility room. Pipes are going through the walls, through the floor...all throughout the room. There's also a faucet on the wall to your left, with one of the pipes leading to it. Below the faucet is a drain.

In the center of the floor is a medium-sized panel with a handle. You opened the panel and fixed the pipe inside via the bike lock.

To the north is yet another door. Unfortunately, this one is missing a knob.

Try turning on the faucet. I don't see anything in our inventory that could hold water right now, but we may need to come back to that later. Would it be possible to wad up the straw wrapper, push it into the funnel to stop it up, and collect water (or whatever liquid comes out of the faucet) that way? Or maybe use our finger to stop it up?

On the north door, is there a hole where the knob should be? Is the door hollow? Any chance there's something inside the door that we have to get out?

Try turning on the faucet. Water pours out of the faucet and goes straight down the drain. I don't see anything in our inventory that could hold water right now, but we may need to come back to that later. Would it be possible to wad up the straw wrapper, push it into the funnel to stop it up, and collect water (or whatever liquid comes out of the faucet) that way? This sounds like it would work PERFECTLY...however, the wrapper wouldn't hold for very long. But still, this looks like the only possible way to collect water - where can we use it? And more importantly, where can we use it quickly? Or maybe use our finger to stop it up?

On the north door, is there a hole where the knob should be? Yes. Is the door hollow? No. And you bang on the door to check - it's solid. Any chance there's something inside the door that we have to get out? No.

What about putting the stem of the funnel into the hole in the top of the plexiglass box? It seems that would soak the cotton, and maybe that will help us get into the box somehow. Good idea, but all the electrical stuff is below the cotton. If we could somehow get the water through the cotton, that might short out the lock on the door.

Thanks Biograd -- somehow I missed the plexi box. Guess I didn't see it in the description of the room or something...Let's see, can the screwdriver or the pen reach through the hole to the cotton and move it out of the way? or can we use the straw to somehow make our way past the cotton layer? Unfortunately, I don't think our Amazing Unbendy Hanger will be of any help here (sad panda) ;-)If one of those ideas works, go ahead and transfer the water as mentioned above, using the straw wrapper to stop it up until you can get it to the hole in the top of the plexi box.

Thanks Biograd -- somehow I missed the plexi box. Guess I didn't see it in the description of the room or something... Let's see, can the screwdriver or the pen reach through the hole to the cotton and move it out of the way? No, but... or can we use the straw to somehow make our way past the cotton layer? This will do!Unfortunately, I don't think our Amazing Unbendy Hanger will be of any help here (sad panda) ;-) And it won't...If one of those ideas works, go ahead and transfer the water as mentioned above, using the straw wrapper to stop it up until you can get it to the hole in the top of the plexi box. You plug up the funnel with the straw wrapper and attach the straw to the end. You fill the funnel with water from the faucet, then hurry back to the plexi-box and stick the straw through the hole. In a very short time, the straw wrapper dissolves; the water slips through the straw, bypassing the cotton, and shorts out the box. The door in front of you swings open.

Go through the door! :-) Please? I guess it's unanimous - you go through the door.

You find yourself in a large, grassy room - still underground though, since there is a solid-looking dirt ceiling that is many feet above your head. In front of you, you see nine doorways, each with a digit from 1 through 9 in front of it. On the floor at your feet is a brass doorknob.

Pick up the doorknob and look at it. It's a doorknob. Or is the knob to a trapdoor in the floor? No. (Although it seems to me it may be the missing doorknob from before). Sounds good to me...

Once you've done that, please examine the 1-9 doors more closely. Doorways, not doors. Is there anything else remarkable about them? Not really. You peek through one of them - there's a short dark hallway that leads into another grassy room, exactly the same as the first (minus the doorknob on the floor). The door behind you, by the way, is marked with an X - this'll keep you from getting lost.

Sounds like someone used "Flagrate" on the door, btw. *grin* Perhaps. And that one's my error - that's a doorway, not a door. The numbers and X's are all written above the doorways.

Check this other grassy room out, if there's nothing else to find in the one you're in. Nothing - it looks the same as the other one. Be sure to remember the way you came...don't want any getting lost. The X is above that doorway too. It appears we'll have to take a certain sequence of rooms, but you don't know that sequence now, so you head back out to the main room, where you've recently shorted out the electrical box.

So do we still have a door missing a doorknob? Yeah, the one in the utility room to the north. If so, put the doorknob on it. Perfect fit. Open it, and go through. You head through the door into the next room. It's a small room with a door in front of you and a large upright piano to your right. There's an envelope on the piano's music stand, and the piano keys are covered by the lid, which has been nailed shut.

Open the envelope and describe the contents. It's another note from Brigitte.

If you've come this far, you're doing well. I just wanted to let you know a couple things. First, they've taken my father Tony prisoner. You may be able to free him. And one of the black keys on the piano is loose.

But you have a crowbar--though the descriptions are confusing enough that I don't know if the door being held open by the crowbar-weight is itself between you and the crowbar. If it isn't, we can borrow the crowbar to pry open the piano, and then tie it back on the rope if we ever need to open that other door again.

But you have a crowbar--though the descriptions are confusing enough that I don't know if the door being held open by the crowbar-weight is itself between you and the crowbar. If it isn't, we can borrow the crowbar to pry open the piano, and then tie it back on the rope if we ever need to open that other door again. We lost the crowbar because it was holding the south door open. But now that there's spikes in that doorway, the crowbar won't matter for that, so if we could retrieve it...

You beat a hasty retreat to the box by the south wall, only to see that the rope has apparently snapped, and the crowbar has fallen into the depths of who-knows-where; you can't even see it. Oh well.

hrm, quarturz, iz hintin that we shuld bee findin dem? we losted mai puzzel sumwerez... There will be more later, yes. But focus on each one at a time - remember what the 1980 one was used for, and think about what the 1973 one might be needed for.

You could walk through the numbered doorways in the order 1-9-7-3, but I don't know what you'd need to DO in each of those other rooms, and otherwise we'd just be going in and out. But actually, if those are exact copies of the current room, they should also have nine numbered doorways of their own!

So let's try that. Go through doorway #1, then find doorway #9 in the next room and go through it, then go through door #7 in that room, and finally #3 in the last. Hopefully there's something useful on the floor of the final room.

You could walk through the numbered doorways in the order 1-9-7-3, but I don't know what you'd need to DO in each of those other rooms, and otherwise we'd just be going in and out. But actually, if those are exact copies of the current room, they should also have nine numbered doorways of their own! As it turns out...this is exactly the case!

So let's try that. Go through doorway #1, then find doorway #9 in the next room and go through it, then go through door #7 in that room, and finally #3 in the last. Hopefully there's something useful on the floor of the final room. You pass through those doors in order, and come to a slightly different room. This room only has two doorways (not counting the one in back). There might be a sign above each, but you can't tell, as there are vines covering the wall where the sign would be.

There's also a very large and very conspicuous tree stump off to the side.

Examine the tree stump more closely. How large is it? Can you tell what sort of tree it was from? Is there anything attached to it (such as a trapdoor handle, metal bands around the trunk, etc.) or anything odd carved in it? Anything else unusual?

Then, examine the vines. Is there anything odd or otherwise particularly notable about them?

Examine the tree stump more closely. How large is it? Can you tell what sort of tree it was from? Is there anything attached to it (such as a trapdoor handle, metal bands around the trunk, etc.) or anything odd carved in it? Anything else unusual? On the top edge of the stump is a small slot. That trapdoor idea sounds pretty good right now...if you could only pry open the trunk. But you can do that, can't you?

Then, examine the vines. Is there anything odd or otherwise particularly notable about them? No. You try moving them aside to read the signs, but they're too tangled to just brush away.

Use the garden shears to cut up the tangled vines. You cut away the vines and they fall to the ground. You can now see that the "signs" are carved into the wall - the one over the left door reads "SAFE," while the one on the right says "TRAP." Both "signs" are lightly scratched into concrete set over the door - interestingly, the concrete which reads "TRAP" has four holes in it, one at each corner of the sign-sized slab.

See if you can use the screwdriver to remove the "TRAP" sign (if there are any screws in those holes). Or try screwing it in with the screws we have in inventory if it doesn't. There are no screws in the holes, and the "TRAP" is set into the wall. However, we still have a sign, and could theoretically screw our sign in over the "TRAP."

By the way, you have to get pretty close up to read the signs ("SAFE" and "TRAP").

Had thought of that, but thought we might be collecting signs like quarters :-)

So there are no holes in the "SAFE" sign? All right, try screwing the "THIS WAY" sign up over the "TRAP" sign, and see if anything happens.

How big is the slot in the trunk? Is there any peculiarity to the shape of it, or is it just a normal looking slot? Can you see anything in the slot? For example, is there a place where the hook-y part of the Amazing Unbendy Hanger could grab on to and we could pull the trunk up?

Had thought of that, but thought we might be collecting signs like quarters :-)

So there are no holes in the "SAFE" sign? Correct. All right, try screwing the "THIS WAY" sign up over the "TRAP" sign, and see if anything happens. Nothing right at the moment. However, anyone walking in will probably think that the "TRAP" doorway is really the safe one.

How big is the slot in the trunk? A couple inches wide. Is there any peculiarity to the shape of it, or is it just a normal looking slot? Normal. Can you see anything in the slot? Nope. For example, is there a place where the hook-y part of the Amazing Unbendy Hanger could grab on to and we could pull the trunk up? No - the hanger is too thick. We'd need something like a mini-crowbar - but we have something like that, don't we?

By the way, the "SAFE" and "TRAP" (which is now covered) slabs are over doorways, not doors. (My bad.) They're practically begging to be explored...or at least, one is.

Mini-crowbar = screwdriver? Use that in the trunk slot. You use the screwdriver to pop open the trunk - the trunk is completely hollow, and you could fit inside. Lying at the bottom of the trunk is a five-dollar bill, which you pocket.

Hmm, I'm inclined to head through the SAFE doorway. Someone else might thing THIS WAY is the way to go, but we're the ones who put the sign there, so we probably ought to avoid that one for now. You step through the "SAFE" doorway and see a CD player sitting on a marble pedestal. There are no other doorways in this room, although there's a conspicuous painting of a guy riding a zip line on the back wall.

Does the CD player have power? No - it's not plugged in, and there's no outlet anywhere. If you can open the tray/compartment, check to see if there's a CD inside. You open the CD compartment - it's empty. You close it again, then pick up the CD player and add it to your backpack. Suddenly...

Also, can you remove the painting from the wall? If so, is there anything behind it? ...the painting swings open, revealing a television screen. The screen flickers on, revealing a large...well, it looks like a man. His face is covered, and he's holding - menacingly - a very large claw hammer. He looks directly at you and speaks:

"1973, right? I'm on my way - there's no way out from this one!"

The screen flickers off. Suddenly, two things happen at once:

-You hear a crashing, growing ever louder, coming from the doorways behind you. -The walls of this room begin to move together - possibly squishing you in between!

You dart out of the room, back into the one with the stump. You hear that crashing getting louder - what are you going to do?

You said we can fit inside the trunk stump? Climb in, and hide! You hop into the stump and close the top behind you. There's a knothole inside the trunk so you can see out.

In just a few seconds, Hammer Dude comes crashing into the room. He glances around and, seeing the two signs, falls for your trick and heads into the "TRAP" room. Just a split second later, you hear a piercing scream which soon fades. Then all is quiet.

After a minute of silence, you head out of the trunk. Is it safe to check out what happened?

Take a peek through the doorway, and see what you can see without entering the room, just in case. You see...well, no floor. Or almost no floor - there's a short ledge, and then a massive pit. The big hammer is resting on the ledge, and the man must be in the pit...but you can't see; it's far too deep.

Is there a bridge to the other side? *warily looks around for any lurking creatures of flame and shadow, wingless or not* No. But the ledge - and hammer - are on your side, near the doorway. You can walk over and grab it.

Okay...so now where are we? Describe what's around, please (sorry if this is repetitive, I'm just not sure where we ought to go next...if there's a possibility of getting a recap on what we've found out, I'd be appreciative of it, lol)

Okay...so now where are we? Describe what's around, please (sorry if this is repetitive, I'm just not sure where we ought to go next...if there's a possibility of getting a recap on what we've found out, I'd be appreciative of it, lol)

There's nothing left to do in this "hedge maze" of doorways, so you head out back to the main room, then sit and think.

-In the center of this room is that weird "reversing microphone." We've apparently got only one more use for it, but don't know what that is. -To the west is the maze of numbered doors. You're finished with that. The one odd thing is that the painting covering the screen was of a guy riding a zip line - that seemed like a non sequitur. -To the south is that dim room with the monk paintings going all the way around the room. That room is now blocked off by large metal bars. -To the east is a door with a four-digit lock. -On the north wall, to the right of the doorway, is the five-dollar bracket board. -To the north is the utility room with the faucet. -To the north of that is the piano room. The piano's lid is nailed shut, and Brigitte's third note told us that one of the black keys is loose.

*thinking ahead* You don't think you might possibly have to rig up a zip line for something or other? There's a pulley, and the vines you cut away might be strong enough to hold you, if you can get them. I don't know what it'd be good for, but just a thought.

*thinking ahead* You don't think you might possibly have to rig up a zip line for something or other? There's a pulley, and the vines you cut away might be strong enough to hold you, if you can get them. I don't know what it'd be good for, but just a thought. Not the vines, but that's a good idea...

Oh, and another "forward thought"--maybe you can hang from the indestructible coat hanger when using the pulley... Ooh, now that's a good idea. And the pulley has a hole in it...that the coat hanger's hook fits in exactly!

I see from the earlier post that the bracket board has teams 0-9, teams A-D, Team Edward, and Team Jacob, if that helps anyone who might have a clue who to select. That's correct. However, we'll probably get some clue as to who to pick later; right now, we should figure out how to free the piano.

Okay, now try to find which black key is loose. You lift the lid and it's immediately obvious - one of the high F-sharps is sticking up a bit. What happens when you press it? Nothing - it won't press. Can you remove it? You can and do, revealing a small green switch. You drop the black piano key into your backpack.

Look through the doorway and describe what you see. If it looks safe, go through. You pass into the next room, which is bare except for two people blocking the door. The first is a girl in her early teens, sobbing. The second is an impish-looking dwarf wearing an elf costume.

I'm guessing we have to write down "I love you" in Latin, since there's no such thing as Latin Sign Language. Something like this.

Can we right it with the pen? The dwarf has become rather possessive of the pen, and won't give it back. Or do we have to spell it out with some of the letters we have? Good thought - let's try this.

Hrm... Unless I miss my guess (and it's entirely possible), Latin for "I love you" is "Te amo," yes? We don't appear to have an E in our letters, so try writing it down. The translation is correct, but we have no pen.

Show it to the dwarf (in case he needs to be the one to tell her), and if that doesn't work, try showing it to her. You try using the T-A-M-O and tilting the W on its side to make the E. Nothing changes. The dwarf writes something more down: "She can't read writing that large. And it has to be you who tells her - she won't pay attention to me."

What if we take the letters for "Te amo" out of one of Birgitte's notes? Tear them out - carefully! (I can't seem to find the text of any of the notes above, but those are all very common letters so they should be easy to find.)

Then tell him to write 'Te amo', since he's not being so good as to give us the pen. *is cross with dwarf* He writes something down and shows it to you. "I'm deaf too. Did I not mention that? Sorry."

What if we take the letters for "Te amo" out of one of Birgitte's notes? Tear them out - carefully! (I can't seem to find the text of any of the notes above, but those are all very common letters so they should be easy to find.) Let's not - that seems a bit complicated.

Or maybe show her the phrase "Team 0" on the placard? Maybe you can put something between the E and the A to make her get how she needs to read it? Now there's an idea! But how can we get that placard?

Well then, I guess the thing to do would be to go back to the bracket room and select Team 0 as our winner. Are we going to have to do anything to make the "games" happen, or will it just go through the tournament automatically?

Well then, I guess the thing to do would be to go back to the bracket room and select Team 0 as our winner. Are we going to have to do anything to make the "games" happen, or will it just go through the tournament automatically? Let's find out...

You press the Team 0 placard on the bracket board. The board moves each team's placard through the bracket, only stopping when it loses. After the final game, Team 0 "wins," and its placard drops off the board entirely, landing on the floor.

Go back to the room where the deaf girl is and show her the placard. You hand her the "Team 0" placard. She immediately brightens up and gives you an enormous hug, surprising you for a moment, before she heads over to the corner of the room, grinning. The dwarf winks at you and moves aside as well. The way forward is clear!

This room is...very island-ish. The path from this doorway to the next is sandy, and water lines both sides of the path. A Hawaiian-looking man in a floral shirt stands next to the door. To his left (your right), still on the sand, is a robot - wearing a grass skirt, no less - doing the hula.

Ask the man his name, what he's doing here, and if you can help him with anything. He looks at you. "I need papayas. Please get me papayas." Ask him about the robot. "It's ANNOYING me, that's what!" Oh, and ask him if he has pineapples. Or a lovely bunch of coconuts. "No. But I need papayas."

Before heading back to the first room, see if you can talk to the robot. If so, ask it what it 's doing and what it wants. Inspect it and note any additional details (does it look like there are any switches, buttons, hidden compartments, etc).

Copied from aboveYou plop down on the ground and look around. There are doors on all four walls. On the wall in front of you, the north wall, there is a sort of electric "eye" to the left of the door. To the door's right is what appears to be a bracket board.

You turn right. To the right of that door is a light switch.

You turn right again. To the right of this door is some sort of box - perhaps a circuit box? It has a metal door on it, but the door is held shut with four flathead screws. Between the circuit box and the door is some small round glass...thing, like a panel set into the well. There are two small vertical slots on either side of it.

You turn right one more time. To the right of this door is yet another circuit box, but its door has no handle.

In the center of the room is a microphone on a stand. There's a large instruction tag hanging from it.

Well, from my estimation, I think we have to find the second use of the microphone. Maybe we should try yelling "papaya" into the back of the mic?

Before heading back to the first room, see if you can talk to the robot. If so, ask it what it 's doing and what it wants. Inspect it and note any additional details (does it look like there are any switches, buttons, hidden compartments, etc). It's a life-size metal robot, wearing a grass hula skirt and - slight gag - a coconut bra. Which just looks creepy on the robot. And it's doing the hula over and over.

But before this odd sight causes you to turn away, you notice that there is something bronze in one of its hands. But you can't see what it is, or take it away, as there's no buttons or switches.

Then head to the first room as Kaylee says. You saunter back.

Well, from my estimation, I think we have to find the second use of the microphone. Maybe we should try yelling "papaya" into the back of the mic? That doesn't work, but...

But it's a reversing microphone. So be should say "apap" into it, because to yell "up" got us a pulley. ...this does, and two papayas drop from the ceiling into your hands. As you watch, the microphone twists itself into a knot - you ain't using it again.

Go back to the island room and give the man the papayas. You hand them over. The man thanks you and, without warning, hurls one at the hula-bot, knocking it into the water, which sizzles with electricity.

You're a bit shocked, but the man just nods in satisfaction. "That was annoying me for the longest time. And now I have lunch too!" He sits down.

You turn back to the water, which is still electrified. Suddenly, something floats to the top and rests against the sand where you are - it's the grass skirt. And that shiny bronze thing is glinting from inside it!

Can you get them, or would that involve touching the electrified water? If it would electrocute you, try using the hammer (assuming it has a nonconductive handle) to pull them toward you and out of the water. Check out the skirt, and find out what that shiny thing is (ooh... shiny!).

Can you get them, or would that involve touching the electrified water? It's touching enough of the beach that you can safely grab it. If it would electrocute you, try using the hammer (assuming it has a nonconductive handle) to pull them toward you and out of the water. Check out the skirt, and find out what that shiny thing is (ooh... shiny!). You take the grass skirt. It's pretty large, but you're not gonna go trying it on.

Or rather, the description says "doorWAY". So I guess we just go through it and save the key for later. No, this one does have a door, and the bronze key fits in it.

You head forward again. This room is very decorative, with several bushes lining the walls. There's a steel door in front of you, with a small trickle of water running under it. Next to the door is a man wearing a prison guard outfit.

On the right wall is a prison cell door. There's a peephole in it, as well as a slot in the door that's apparently used for food. It's about six inches high and a bit over a foot wide.

Look in the peephole. What do you see? You see a cell, with stone walls left and right and a barred back wall. There's a bearded man sitting there.

He somehow senses your presence, as he looks directly toward you - toward the peephole, at least, and makes hand motions as if he's holding a hammer and chisel. Does he want something from you?

Talk to the prison guard. You do so. "That worthless piece of scum in there - I can hear everything he says, so he's given up talking. Good for him! I also inspect everything that is going to him, through that cell door slot, so everything has to come by me."

Ask the prisoner what he wants (not likely to get an answer if he has given up talking, but it can't hurt to try). Look through the peep hole while you ask, in case he gestures to you. You do so. He again makes motions of using a hammer and chisel.

Take out your hammer and file. Keep them out of line of sight of the guard, and show them to the prisoner (if he can see them -- I don't actually think he could unless we open that slot thing). The only thing I can think of is baking them into a cake, and I don't think that's going to work...

I don't suppose we can use our torch as a kind of paddle? Look at the steel door and at the "river" -- anything interesting?

Take out your hammer and file. Keep them out of line of sight of the guard, and show them to the prisoner (if he can see them -- I don't actually think he could unless we open that slot thing). You try slipping the hammer and file through the slot, but the guard stops you. He holds out his hands and you reluctantly drop both items into them. He looks at the hammer and nods, saying, "Not like he'll be able to do anything with this. Maybe he'll do us all a favor and bash his own head in." The guard drops the hammer into the cell, before looking at the file. He shakes his head and hands it back to you. "He could file the bars away! What are you thinking?"

Re-examining the file, you realize that its rounded front edge wouldn't work as a good makeshift chisel. But do you have something else that would?

The only thing I can think of is baking them into a cake, and I don't think that's going to work... Well, there's no cake here.

I don't suppose we can use our torch as a kind of paddle? Nope. Look at the steel door and at the "river" -- anything interesting? Nope.

Screwdriver? You pass the screwdriver to the guard, who inspects it and slips it through the door. "Not like he can break out with that thing anyway. Cat-nap time."

Maybe you could hide some tool (like the screwdriver) in the CD compartment of the player, and then drop the player through the slot, if it fits through? It wouldn't fit, but no need.

The guard drops down in the corner for a quick snooze. You hear some loud clinks, cracks, and crumbles from the cell, but the guard doesn't wake up - he's out cold. After a few minutes, a large stone tablet slides out the slot in the door and hits the floor hard. The shock jars the guard awake, but he doesn't notice the tablet.

Examine the tablet. You pick up the heavy tablet. There's writing chiseled into it:

I don't know who you are, but I know that if you've come this far, you must be, as I've heard it, "on the side of the angels" in this matter. You don't know my daughter, Brigitte, but she knows who you are. And we're trying to help, but they somehow knew and put me in prison to threaten her.

Before I was caught, I found one thing that could help you. I will give it to you if you can help me get out of here.

-Tony

Oh, by the way, Brigitte left you something deep in the bush nearest this cell door. I saw her leave it there.

Look in the bush nearest the cell door, using the garden shears to trim the branches back if necessary. You hack at the bush with the shears and eventually uncover another envelope here, which you open. Again, there's a letter:

I'm sure you know by now - this is my dad. I know you'll be able to free him.

Just an advance warning - when you get back to the yard, there'll be a robotic guard waiting for you. It locks onto heat, so be careful. And its weak spot is the power pack on its back.

Also, if you're reading this, know that you need to go through a door you've seen several times, but have not been through.

Well, unless there's a combination lock on the cell door, I'd guess that we have to go back to the maze of numbered doors and this time go through in the order 2-0-0-4. That would explain the needing to go through a "door you've seen several times, but have not been through". If there in fact IS a combination lock, I'd guess that the latter phrase refers to the "monk room" door, since something tells me we are not done in there, as we didn't make use of anything but the straw on the floor.

Well, unless there's a combination lock on the cell door, I'd guess that we have to go back to the maze of numbered doors and this time go through in the order 2-0-0-4. That wouldn't be possible, as there were no zeroes in the numbered maze. That would explain the needing to go through a "door you've seen several times, but have not been through". If there in fact IS a combination lock, I'd guess that the latter phrase refers to the "monk room" door, since something tells me we are not done in there, as we didn't make use of anything but the straw on the floor. Well, there was one more door in the very first room you've been in below. And didn't it have a combination lock on it?

Well, unless there's a combination lock on the cell door, I'd guess that we have to go back to the maze of numbered doors and this time go through in the order 2-0-0-4. That wouldn't be possible, as there were no zeroes in the numbered maze. That would explain the needing to go through a "door you've seen several times, but have not been through". If there in fact IS a combination lock, I'd guess that the latter phrase refers to the "monk room" door, since something tells me we are not done in there, as we didn't make use of anything but the straw on the floor. Well, there was one more door in the very first room you've been in below. And didn't it have a combination lock on it?

I was going to suggest that before I read your post, Balin (sad panda). *pets panda, turns it into happy panda* Go back and enter 2-0-0-4 in the combo lock, and head through the door. The combination lock pops open and the door opens. You step inside.

This room is odd. It's an old bedroom, but there are no sheets, blankets, or pillows on the mattress. It's just a bare mattress.

There's also a poster tacked onto the wall. It looks like a poster of a band with five guys in it.

Next to the bed is a nightstand with a slice of cake on it. Behind the nightstand is a power outlet.

Can you describe the guys in the band on the poster in more detail? You would, except their faces have been blurred. Can the poster be removed? Yes, and you take it. Is anything behind it? No.

Is anything plugged into the power outlet? No.

Is there anything unusual looking about the cake? No. In case you're wondering, it's chocolate.

Is the cake a lie? -- sorry, had to do it... I never have understood that meme...

if the cake is a lie, maybe there can be a cheezburgur which is true? *hopeful* No cheezburgerz here.

Is the CD player battery operated, or does it need to be plugged into an outlet? If it has a plug, try plugging it in here. It needs to be plugged in, so you do so here, sitting the CD player itself on the nightstand.

It's based on Portal (the video game). Basically you're going through level after level with this computer talking to you. She promises you that at the end of the "test," there is cake waiting for you. In later levels, as it becomes more and more clear that everything is not as it should be, and that the computer might be crazy or at the very least out to get you, there are areas with graffiti on the walls that say (among other things), "The cake is a lie." Cue meme groupies. (Also, right before the credits roll at the end of the game, there's a shot of a room with a piece of cake, and a robotic arm like the one the computer has comes down and snuffs out the candle on it.)

I can't remember if there's anything in the CD player, but try pressing play anyway.

Also, can we use the garden shears to cut into the mattress and see if there's anything inside?

First of all, OMG was this a lot of reading to catch up to where we are. Also, this Brigitte dame seems of only marginal helpfulness. Are we sure she's not some evil genius using us as the white mouse in her torture maze for some nefarious psych study? Just saying...

Is there anything on the back of the poster? Anything relevant about what the guys are wearing?

Is the cake frosted? Do we care? Is there a sensible way to take the cake with us? (Not sensible being to toss it into our backpack so all future inventory lists with describe every single item as "smeared with cake frosting" or "coated with crumbs".)

Random question - the "top" we have in our inventory - spinning child's toy? A shirt?

Does the nightstand match the bed? Is this relevant?

Most nightstands have drawers. Does this one? Open them (it). Anything in there?

It's based on Portal (the video game). Basically you're going through level after level with this computer talking to you. She promises you that at the end of the "test," there is cake waiting for you. In later levels, as it becomes more and more clear that everything is not as it should be, and that the computer might be crazy or at the very least out to get you, there are areas with graffiti on the walls that say (among other things), "The cake is a lie." Cue meme groupies. (Also, right before the credits roll at the end of the game, there's a shot of a room with a piece of cake, and a robotic arm like the one the computer has comes down and snuffs out the candle on it.) Ah, it all makes sense now. Cool.

I can't remember if there's anything in the CD player, but try pressing play anyway. You do. Nothing plays, as there's no CD in there.

Also, can we use the garden shears to cut into the mattress and see if there's anything inside? You find heavy thick padding and heavy thick springs. Apparently, this is just a mattress.

First of all, OMG was this a lot of reading to catch up to where we are. Also, this Brigitte dame seems of only marginal helpfulness. Are we sure she's not some evil genius using us as the white mouse in her torture maze for some nefarious psych study? Just saying... What other choice do we have? It's not like we can do anything else right now but trust her. It seems like she's helping us get through where we need it most.

Is there anything on the back of the poster? NoAnything relevant about what the guys are wearing? No, though they are dressed. Just to prevent that question.

Is the cake frosted? No.Do we care? Not really.Is there a sensible way to take the cake with us? (Not sensible being to toss it into our backpack so all future inventory lists with describe every single item as "smeared with cake frosting" or "coated with crumbs".) You can hold it in your hands. And touché.

Random question - the "top" we have in our inventory - spinning child's toy? Yes. We first got it in Part 2 of this adventure - it's like the top from Inception.A shirt?

Does the nightstand match the bed? Yes.Is this relevant? No.

Most nightstands have drawers. Does this one? Oddly, it does not.Open them (it). Anything in there?

OMG -- Brigitte is GLaDOS (the computer from Portal)!!! The cake really is a lie! No conclusion-jumping allowed. And remember, I had no knowledge of Portal or GLaDOS before about three posts ago.

Look under the mattress, the nightstand, etc., to see if there is anything hidden (such as a CD). If you have looked under everything that can be lifted, and found nothing, take the cake back to Tony and offer it to him through the slot.

Look under the mattress, the nightstand, etc., to see if there is anything hidden (such as a CD). If you have looked under everything that can be lifted, and found nothing, which you have, take the cake back to Tony and offer it to him through the slot. Good idea, but first...

Wait, why are we giving the cake to Tony?

If Tony doesn't want it, can we use to the bribe the guard to free him?

After all it's yummy, dark, rich, delicious chocolate cake and it might not even be poisoned or drugged! What more could he want?

Ixnay on my previous "Why are we giving the cake to Tony?" Ixnayed.

Can we hide the file in the cake? Now that's a good idea. You shove the file in the cake and slip it through the slot - but the *^%$#@!$&^ guard grabs it first. He inspects it...and passes it through the slot. "What harm could cake do? Hopefully he chokes on it. Nap time again for me."

The guard slumps down and sleeps. Soon, you hear the sound of metal bars being filed away, followed by a couple loud clanks. Something slips through the slot - a CD, which you take. You check the peephole and see that Tony has escaped - all right! And the guard didn't even wake up.

Wait, he just woke up. But he doesn't seem to notice anything's different.

Of course, then we'd still have to get rid of the guard. And there's that bit about needing a paddle...or something. Think "or something." The CD'll help you here.

So we needed "a paddle to go up the river". Hey, hey! We have an "O.A.R."! *groan*

Let's sit and contemplate the deep meaning of the lyrics of the song.

In a way, I need a change From this burnout scene Another time, another town Another everything But it's always back to you

Stumble out, in the night From the pouring rain Made the block, sat and thought There's more I need It's always back to you

But I'm good without ya Yeah, I'm good without you Yeah, yeah, yeah

How many times can I break till I shatter? Over the line can't define what I'm after I always turn the car around Give me a break let me make my own pattern All that it takes is some time but I'm shattered I always turn the car around

I had no idea that the night Would take so damn long Took it out, on the street While the rain still falls Push me back to you

But I'm good without ya Yeah, I'm good without you Yeah, yeah, yeah

How many times can I break till I shatter? Over the line can't define what I'm after I always turn the car around Give me a break let me make my own pattern All that it takes is some time but I'm shattered I always turn the car around

Give it up, give it up, baby Give it up, give it up, now Now

How many times can I break till I shatter? Over the line can't define what I'm after I always turn the car around All that I feel is the realness I'm faking Taking my time but it's time that I'm wasting Always turn the car around

How many times can I break till I shatter? Over the line can't define what I'm after I always turn the car around

Are the names of the band members relevant? I suppose we could poke, cut out, draw on, or do any of a number of other things to one of the guy's pictures on the poster (that I'm now assuming is an O.A.R poster), but I have no clue which and what to do...

Can you unplug the CD player? If so, can you remove the CD after you unplug it? No - it's stuck.

If not, go back to the guard and sing the song to him. How does he react? He nods. "Close, but you need to actually show me."

Are the names of the band members relevant? I suppose we could poke, cut out, draw on, or do any of a number of other things to one of the guy's pictures on the poster (that I'm now assuming is an O.A.R poster), but I have no clue which and what to do... You're probably right...

We also have the letters to make the word OAR...if that helps.

Would the guard like us to spell for him?

Or maybe instead of spelling OAR to the guard, we need to attach it to the poster? But I don't see any glue or tape on the list, so that's probably not it. ...and since this all seems complicated, you just show the guard the poster. He nods and pulls out a small remote. Pushing it, he opens the steel door, then steps aside.

Look through the door to see if all is safe. Then, if it is, proceed through the door. All is safe, so you step forward. This is a small "forest-y" room, with a couple trees and a small stream. Across from you is a wooden door with no hinges or handle. Next to you is a table with a small indentation in it.

Look at the trees more closely. What do they look like? Next, check out the stream. How deep is it? Are there fish? What is the table made of? Is there anything remarkable about it other than the indentation? Check out the indentation. What is it shaped like? If you put pressure on it, does anything happen? Look at the door. What kind of wood is it? Is there anything written/carved on it?

Look at the trees more closely. What do they look like? Like trees. They're not very tall - only a dozen feet high at most - and they're not very leafy. In fact, there are no leaves on any of the trees. However, one of the trees has one of those "love hearts" carved into its trunk, containing the initials:

S.P. + I.N.

Next, check out the stream. How deep is it? About six inches. Are there fish? No.What is the table made of? Solid wood. Not sure what type. Is there anything remarkable about it other than the indentation? Apparently not. Check out the indentation. What is it shaped like? Like someone poked the table with a tiny wide cone. It comes to a point, but it's barely a centimeter deep - in fact, it may be shallower than that. If you put pressure on it, does anything happen? You can't do so with your finger, because of the narrowness of the indentation.Look at the door. What kind of wood is it? Don't know. But you knock on the door - it's very solid and heavy. Is there anything written/carved on it? No.

Hmm, SP + IN = spin. It sounds like we need to spin the top. Spin the top on the table. If it fits, put it in the indentation. You spin the top in the indentation. As it spins, the wooden door rises until it is open completely. When the top topples, the door closes again.

Spin the top again, and go through the door before the top stops spinning. You hurry through the door just as the top falls and the door closes. Turning around, you see there's no apparent way to get back out that door. Well, that's a problem.

Looking up, you see a vent cover above the door.

Turning around, you see a record player on the floor against the back wall. On the left wall is a large computer screen asking for a password.

Password, hmm? How about: 84 quarters? 99 bottles of beer on the wall? Balin? Balinbalin? Wait...how are we going to input the password? This isn't a touch screen, and there's no keyboard or anything of that nature nearby.

Using the stepladder, examine the vent cover. You put the stepladder up against the door and climb up. Does it open? No - it's not screwed or bolted on, and we can't pull it off the wall.Can we pry it open? With what? Besides, the cover is flush against the wall, so it probably wouldn't work.If it has screws, can we use the quarter in the groove of the screws to unscrew them? If it had screws, this probably would work...but it doesn't.

Examine the computer screen. It looks like a flat-screen TV, that's how big it is.Any wires running anywhere? Nope.Any apparent speakers or microphone nearby? Also nope.

Can we turn the record player on? Yes, but it doesn't do anything without a record in it.Anything else relevant about examining the record player? Not really. We'll probably need to find a record somewhere in here.

Why do I get a sinking feeling we weren't supposed to come through this door? Of course, if we weren't presumably the door would have slammed shut before we could enter. But if you weren't, why would the door have even been there?

To get out of this room, you need to find a record. Since we can't get at the vent, finding the record will probably have to involve the computer screen. However, since we can't input a password, nor do we have a clue what that password will be...maybe we'll have to think laterally? What else can we do to the computer screen?

**NOTE: The stepladder is up against the door in the room we are currenly in. However, if we are going to escape through the vent, which seems likely, we will not be able to take said stepladder with us.

You said the screen is not a touch screen, yes? So we can... Hold our letters up to it? Yes, but this doesn't do anything.Lick them to make them stick? No, we can't do this.Break the screen? But we can definitely do this....

Break it? (I thought violence was a no-no...) Against people. Computer screens (but only the ones in the adventure) are fair game.With the nails? Too light.The shears? Good idea, but the screen is reinforced, so the shears don't work.Something else? Yes...

We've also got a stone tablet we could smash it with. You bash the screen with the stone tablet a few times, resulting in a loud explosion as the screen shatters. When the smoke and glass clears, you spot a record hidden among the tangle of wires.

Well that's a silly place to hide a record. We could have easily broken it while smashing the screen. Hey, don't blame me; blame the person who hid it there. Which, since I am the puzzle creator, was technically me. So yeah, blame me.

Take the record. Play it. Get our groove on. ...I mean, did something happen? You put the record on the player and start it spinning. The record player starts blaring "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." However, when the record gets to the lyric "Light a candle," it starts to skip...and skip...and skip..."Light a candle/Light a candle/Light a candle/Light a candle" and so on, you get the drift.

You hear a sound from behind you, so you turn around and look up. As the record skips, the vent cover rises - your way out is clear!

Let's skip "lighting a votive"... And step up the stepladder, Through the vent. Step down, step down, And "Watch your heel (crush, crushed?)". You make your way through the vent, the record player still playing that lyric, which echoes through the metal walls of the vent...

Anyway, you make it all the way down the vent until you reach the end. Looking down, you see a trapdoor in the vent, so you drop down it and land...back in that dimly lit room with the creepy monk paintings and bars across the door.

Huh. I thought he meant "flashlight" but was being all British, which would be odd since he's not.

Dude, if we've been carrying a LIT torch in our backpack without setting ourselves and everything else on fire - I want to know the brand, because I need that backpack. :D

Here's the room description from last time... You step through the door into a dark, stone room. It's not completely dark though, but very dimly lit. There is a door on the opposite side of the room, and on it is a painting of a monk holding an unlit candle. Behind him - at least, it looks this way - there are two lines of monks, all holding unlit candles. The monks are all painted on the walls, and the lines of monks extend all the way around the walls.

Also, please confirm. We are INSIDE the creepy monk room and the bars are down, locking us IN? And yes.

Huh. I thought he meant "flashlight" but was being all British, which would be odd since he's not. No, I meant "torch." Not "flashlight.

Dude, if we've been carrying a LIT torch in our backpack without setting ourselves and everything else on fire - I want to know the brand, because I need that backpack. :D You've been wise enough to carry the torch in your hand, and everything else in your backpack. No backpack flambé here.

Here's the room description from last time... You step through the door into a dark, stone room. It's not completely dark though, but very dimly lit. There is a door on the opposite side of the room, and on it is a painting of a monk holding an unlit candle. Behind him - at least, it looks this way - there are two lines of monks, all holding unlit candles. The monks are all painted on the walls, and the lines of monks extend all the way around the walls.

Is this still accurate? Yes

Let's take a closer look at the Front Monk. Anything unusual? Yes - it almost looks as if he's offering the candle to you. And his is the only one where the wick is directly visible.

Anything important on the floor? How about above us? No to both. Above you is the trapdoor you entered through, but that's out of reach.

I don't see matches or a lighter in our inventory, but we do have a torch. Is it lit? If so, use it to light a candle. It is and always has been, so you hold the torch up to the Front Monk's candle. The candle lights.

Suddenly, the candles held by the two monks next in line light. And the next two...and the next two...and so on down the line. As the candles light and the room gets brighter, the Front Monk seems to split in two...but it's really the wall which has split in two, revealing a secret doorway!

Anyway, you walk towards the man. You notice a large, conspicuous metal trapdoor in the floor, and are in fact standing on it when facing the man, who's short, but not like the dwarf. Although...he does have an impish look to him as well.

What's in the case? There's a large iron key.

Anything else we notice about the room? There's a small alcove to the right with a shelf on the wall. There are six items on the shelf.

Let's step off the trapdoor and say Hello to the man. He grinns peevishly. "Only one object there will break this glass. But you cannot take anything from it without an equal trade. Hee hee." Did he seriously just say "Hee hee"?

And let's take a closer look at the shelf. The six objects are? From left to right: -a heavy lamp; -a wooden oar; -a section of iron pipe; -a baseball bat; -a brass candlestick; -and a fire axe.

Ask him: "How many tries do we get?" He just smiles to this one."What might count as equal trade?" "Equal trade is equal trade. It's obvious, isn't it?""Any idea what might break the glass? A riddle perhaps?" "One of the six. I said that already...."

Also..."Hee hee? I'm guessing you don't get a lot of entertainment here. Glad I could liven up your day." That seemed to annoy him.

Can we switch our O.A.R. poster for the oar? You swap the two, and the imp dude looks a bit shocked, but nods. What about our torch for the lamp? You try this switch, but imp man shakes his head. But you did get the poster-for-oar switch off.

Is there a way to try the oar on the glass case without standing on the trap door? Well, the trap door is locked, so it's probably not that dangerous.

Speaking of - Are there ANY other doors in this place besides the one that closed behind us? Only the trapdoor in the floor.

Any way to offer to swap the key (iron) for the key (piano)? The iron key is in the glass case, so not likely. Besides, the swapping was on the shelf.

If it looks like our only option, take the oar to the case. You take it over there. Now what?

Oh, I see, you meant smash it. OK, let's do it.

You swing the oar down with full force, smashing the glass to bits and causing the iron key to drop to the floor. Imp Man stands in the alcove with the shelf and other stuff, waves at you with that same annoying grin, and a wall lowers, closing off the alcove.

Suddenly, you hear a sound above you. Looking up, you see that spikes are sticking down from the ceiling...which is starting to lower! Better get out of here quickly!

Take the key and use it to unlock the trapdoor. Done - the key fits perfectly, and you pull the trapdoor open.

Barring any sharks jumping out to eat us, going through the trapdoor seems like a good idea. You drop through, mere seconds before the spiky ceiling reachs the floor, closing the trapdoor with great force in the process.

Do we end up in the jail room? No; you end up somewhere...new.

First of all, to your left is a doorway which apparently leads down a dirt road lined with telephone poles. That seems hopeful.

In front of you is a large metal door with some sort of electronic lock - there's a strange humming coming from the door. To the right of the door is a fusebox requiring a four-digit code to open.